If you're looking for something new to try this summer, you might want to try disc golf. It's easy to learn, inexpensive to play, and fun for all ability levels. I went to Enman Field in Brunswick to speak with the owner, Bob Enman, to learn more about the sport and give it a try myself.

Most people have thrown a Frisbee at some point. If you have, congratulations! You're ready to play disc golf. The discs used in disc golf are smaller, heavier, and more aerodynamic than the recreational Frisbees most people are used to throwing, so don't call it “Frisbee golf” in front of any hardcore players. “Frisbee is like a four letter word to disc golfers,” says Kyle Enman, Bob's son who works and teaches lessons at Enman Field. It would be something like comparing a Jetta to a Ferrari.

Bob Enman leans on a disc golf basket.

The sport is fairly similar to traditional golf, except that you throw a disc into a “basket” rather than hit a ball into a hole. They use the same scoring system, and much of the same terminology. Courses are about a third of the size of a traditional golf course, so each yard on a golf course roughly equals one foot on a disc golf course. This means that if a standard par-four hole on a traditional golf course was 350 yards, then a standard par four hole on a disc golf course would be 350 feet.

One major difference between the two sports is the price. There's not a lot of fancy equipment required to play disc golf. It usually costs around 4-6 dollars to play a round, and most courses let you play all day for a dollar or two more. Disc rentals are about a dollar per disc. There are several types of discs, but beginners can get by with one disc. Even intermediate players would be fine with three discs, so you can spend a day playing for under ten dollars.

The sport can be as fun or as challenging as you want it to be. While you can get by with one disc and a basic ability to throw a Frisbee, advanced players have a much larger arsenal. I played a few holes with Kyle, who had just gotten back from a disc golf tournament in Kentucky the night before. Kyle keeps about 15-20 discs in his bag, compared to the three I used.

Kyle Enman throws around a tree towards a basket.

Before we started playing, Kyle demonstrated several types of shots, including straight throws, ones that curved to the left or to the right, overhand throws that went high in the air and then flattened out, and even ones that rolled.

Having never played before and standing on the wide-open first hole, I wondered why so many different shots would be necessary. The answer was obvious once the course wound its way through the woods. Sometimes you have to throw around, under, or over a tree or other obstacle that's between you and the basket. Sometimes a hole bends one way or another, and having different types of shots makes it easier to maneuver the course.

Trading Balls for Discs

Traditional golf is one of the most frustrating sports to play. Some people take lessons, buy the most expensive equipment, and play every day, but they just can't make that little white ball go where they want it to. Bob Enman was one of these people. “They couldn't come up with a handicap big enough for me,” he says. But he found his niche when he tried disc golf at Beaver Brook in Monmouth, and hasn't looked back since. Bob designed and built Enman Field in 1996 on some family land, then purchased land in Auburn specifically for a disc golf course, where he designed and built Dragan Field a few years later.

There are 22 official disc golf courses in Maine, and Enman has designed several of them. He says there is no “typical” course, having designed courses ranging from a 2-acre “backyard” course to ones spanning 40 acres. Some courses are designed as a way for an existing business to supplement its income. Others are built for the sole purpose of playing disc golf.

“Every piece of land has a course on it,” according to Enman, who enjoys the challenge of finding them and bringing them out. A lot of thought goes in to planning each hole, as well as how the course as a whole fits together. Enman spent three months walking the land he bought for Dragan Field before he ever put a hole on it.

Born From Pies

The theory that a disc golf course can be created anywhere speaks to the origin of the sport, which started on college campuses. In the early 1900s, students would take pie tins made by the Frisbee Pie Company and toss them around. Once students started picking targets to throw the tins at, the essence of disc golf was born.

Despite roots in the early 1900s, it wasn't until the mid 1970s until disc golf became an “official” sport. Ed Headrick, known as “The Father of Disc Golf,” built the first standardized courses and invented the disc golf target, (a pole with chains draped from the top and hanging down into a basket) which is now used on courses everywhere. One of the oldest courses in the country is the Beaver Brook course in Monmouth, which Headrick designed and built. Enman describes it as “a short finesse course in the woods,” because when Headrick designed it, the only discs that were available were traditional Frisbees. “You couldn't throw them very far, so the course was built for the classic Frisbee discs,” says Enman.

Today's discs are more specialized than the discs Headrick used. Discs are similar to golf clubs — there are drivers that go far but are less accurate, mid-range discs (similar to irons in golf) and putting discs that have the most control for landing in the baskets. With discs like these available, Enman was able to combine elements from early disc golf courses with elements from traditional golf to make Enman Field a challenging test of power and finesse.

Different discs in the pro shop at Enman Field.

Enman is one of the state's biggest proponents for the sport he loves. He has sent hundreds of discs to Iraq and helped set up two courses there, so our troops can enjoy the game. He has given away over 5,000 rulebooks to help encourage people to play correctly. Enman holds many tournaments throughout the year, including the Dragan Disc Golf Championships, which is Maine's qualifying tournament for the United States Disc Golf Championships, one of the sport's most prestigious events.

Disc golf may still be a relatively obscure sport to the general public, but it has made big strides in its young history. It is the second fastest growing sport in the U.S. behind soccer, according to Enman. Much more established now than in the days of throwing pie plates around campus, but still fun for all ages, this burgeoning sport will continue to grow, especially with help from advocates like Enman.“This is a real sport and we want it to be treated like a real sport.”